Matthew 13:1-23

Isaiah 55:10-11

Psalm 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14

Romans 8:18-23

Matthew 13:1-23

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.

Such large crowds gathered around him

that he got into a boat and sat down,

and the whole crowd stood along the shore. 

And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:

“A sower went out to sow. 

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,

and birds came and ate it up. 

Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. 

It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,

and when the sun rose it was scorched,

and it withered for lack of roots. 

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. 

But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,

a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. 

Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The disciples approached him and said,

“Why do you speak to them in parables?”

He said to them in reply,

“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven

has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. 

To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;

from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

This is why I speak to them in parables, because

they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. 

Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,

you shall indeed look but never see.

Gross is the heart of this people,

they will hardly hear with their ears,

they have closed their eyes,

lest they see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts and be converted,

and I heal them. 

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,

and your ears, because they hear. 

Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people

longed to see what you see but did not see it,

and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Hear then the parable of the sower.

The seed sown on the path is the one

who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,

and the evil one comes and steals away

what was sown in his heart.

The seed sown on rocky ground

is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. 

But he has no root and lasts only for a time. 

When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,

he immediately falls away. 

The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,

but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word

and it bears no fruit. 

But the seed sown on rich soil

is the one who hears the word and understands it,

who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you send forth your Word and bring life to the earth and accomplish your saving purpose. Send your living Word deep into our hearts, breaking up the hardness of sinful hearts and nourishing every seed of faith you have planted within us. May your Spirit make us rich soil, eager to hear, understand, and obey your will, so that our lives may bear abundant fruit for your glory and for the good of your Church.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Original Meaning of Isaiah’s Prophecy: In the Gospel, we find one of the longest citations of the Old Testament. And no doubt it can be discomforting. Why doesn’t God want his people to be converted? Why doesn’t he want them to hear and understand his message? To understand the meaning of the Old Testament passage and how it relates to Jesus, we need to go back to the passage in Isaiah 6. The Lord called Isaiah, who was working as a scribe in the royal palace, to become his prophet. God told Isaiah to say to the people: “Listen carefully, but do not understand! Look intently, but do not perceive! Make the heart of this people sluggish, dull their ears and close their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart understand, and they turn and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10). In response, Isaiah asked God, “How long, O Lord?” He wanted to know how long the people would refuse to repent. And the Lord responded, “Until the cities are desolate, without inhabitants, Houses, without people, and the land is a desolate waste” (Isaiah 6:11). What God is saying is that only after the exile, when Israel is but an oak tree trunk without leaves, will Israel hear and understand and repent. Jesus applies the passage of Isaiah to his own day. He, like Isaiah, will preach. But the hearts of the people will be slow to understand and will not repent. But the day will come when he is cut down, when he endures his passion and death and rises from the dead. On that day, the people will begin to hear, see, and understand. In fact, in a very deep way, the exile of Israel and Judah ends with the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is when Jesus sends out his messengers, his angels, his apostles, and his disciples to the ends of the earth to gather in Israel and the nations. The apostles will work to extend the Kingdom of heaven throughout the world. The parables about the mysteries of the Kingdom will not be understood by the proud but only by the humble of heart.

2. The Cycle of Rain and Snow: Jesus will later explain that the parable is about the sowing of the word of the Kingdom and how those who hear the word of the Kingdom receive it. The image of God’s Word proceeding from God the Father and bearing fruit in the world is found in the First Reading, from Isaiah 55. The prophet Isaiah uses the image of the cycle of water to exemplify the profound mystery of God’s Word. The clouds and heavens pour the rain and snow that water the earth and make it fertile and fruitful. The plants bring forth seeds for other plants and provide bread and food for animals. The water also returns to the heavens. Like the water, the Word proceeds from God, is welcomed or rejected by human hearts, and returns to God, having accomplished the Father’s will. In the Gospel parable, some of those who hear the word do not understand it (symbolized by the path), others welcome it superficially (rocky ground), others are distracted by the world (thorns), others understand it and bear fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty-fold, others one hundredfold.

3. From Suffering to Glory: In the Second Reading, Paul has just spoken about our divine adoption. But this grace does not mean we will have an easy life. “On the contrary, it means following the path of the crucified Messiah through a world inundated with frustration and pain. Suffering is an inescapable reality; it pervades the entire created order. But more importantly, Paul contends that embracing trials and giving consent to suffering configures us more closely to Christ. It is a mechanism that helps us die to our selfishness and surrender ourselves more completely to the Lord. Suffering, in other words, has real, redemptive significance in the saving designs of God. Paul also reminds readers that natural afflictions are transitory compared to the eternal light of glory. The day is coming when believers will be raised immortal and glorious, and the whole of God’s material creation will be set free from corruption. Until then, the human and nonhuman worlds continue in a state of groaning (8:22-23) and waiting (8:19, 23, 25) until God’s purposes are fully accomplished” (Hahn and Mitch, Romans, 138).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Sower who never ceases to scatter the seed of your Kingdom with patience and love. When trials, suffering, anxiety, or the cares of this world threaten to choke your Word within us, strengthen our faith and keep our hearts fixed on you. Help us to persevere with hope, trusting that the sufferings of this present age cannot compare with the glory you have prepared for your faithful people. May your Word bear lasting fruit in our lives.

Living the Word of God: What practical step can I take this week to become more receptive to God’s Word through prayer, attentive listening, or greater obedience? What worry, attachment, suffering, or distraction is threatening to choke the life of God's Word within me, and how can I entrust it more fully to Christ? How can I bear visible fruit for God’s Kingdom this week by showing patience, encouraging someone who is suffering, or performing a hidden act of charity with hope in the glory God has promised?